Bloodlust
by Guiltipleasures
Summary: Three high school girls discover that there are vampires living in the forest near their school who steal blood from the students and teachers, as well as residents of the closest town, in order to survive. This revelation brings to light other dark secrets as the lives of everyone involved change forever.
1. Introduction

**...**

**I got the idea for this story several years ago. Made many attempts at writing it. Put it on the shelf because I started to hate it. Now I think I know how to fix it, so I started working on it again.**

**This is the first time I'm publishing it to the internet. I'm just hoping to get some feedback. Feel free to be harsh, but please be constructive.**

**Hope you like it. :D**

**...**

**Introduction**

There is often a fine line separating truth and legend. As far as vampires are concerned, most modern day ones know very little of where they came from and how they are expected to live in today's world of surveillance and information and exposed secrets. Most of them don't know how little they should concern themselves with humans stumbling upon the truth and how they really should be more worried about other vampires finding them. Besides, humans have always known.

David Parker, who appears in this book, was arguably the most fortunate vampire to ever be created, because he received something that very few vampires ever gain in their lifetime, not to even mention in the instance of their re-birth: understanding. David was transformed by a man who hailed the advancement of knowledge, something that he passed on to David in the form of a notebook after his regrettable death. That small, leather-bound notebook was indispensable as it ensured David's survival; it was the record of everything that man had learned in all his years of observing and examining vampires. Thanks to that little book, David lived and helped many other vampires to live when they had nothing else akin to guidance or insight.

Nicolas Grey theorized, as many others have, that vampires evolved from those who suffered the bite of a vampire bat, but this theory has been long since invalidated. In perfect honesty, no one is sure how vampires came into existence. Were they transformed by a rabid disease that we have yet to fully grasp? Are they the result of an ancient curse, maybe going as far back as a the Fall of Man? Is it an alien gene that makes them monsters, or a genetic variance? As the in-depth study of vampires has been made more possible, scientists have formulated many possible origins, but so far we are only sure of what vampires are like in our time.

Vampires can see, hear, taste, feel, and smell considerably better than we can. They are stronger, and some can move so quickly that they are undetectable to the naked human eye. Pale, waxy skin is certain, because vampires have precious little blood of their own; they lose it when they die, and whatever remains is stagnant in their veins, unpumped by an unbeating heart. (Scientists have been unable to explain how something can be animate when it lacks a functioning heart.) As they are dying, their nails grow long and sharp. Afterwards they may look like glass, sleek and brittle, but they cut like daggers and are unbreakable.

There are two main breeds of vampires: Lessers and Purebloods. There is a toxin that contaminates the blood and the saliva of a vampire, in turn infecting any human who takes in either fluid—if the fluid came from a Pureblood. Toxin from a Lesser remains dormant, not quite strong enough to take over. Once infected by a Pureblood, though, transformation is inevitable.

Purebloods are more powerful then Lessers, and more sensitive to the sun's rays. There is one cruel law of nature that restricts the number of Purebloods, turning them into something of an anomaly: Purebloods are far more vulnerable. Bloodlust and thirst are more intense, and feeding is a daily peril.

If you want to protect yourself from a vampire, garlic and stakes will not help you. Religious symbols, crucifixes and holy water, have only as much potential as the user has faith in what these objects represent. Silver bullets, however, will severely harm and possibly kill vampires if they are unable to heal themselves. Vampires are able to move around in sunlight, but not for extended periods of time. The sun drains them, and too much exposure could kill them. A Pureblood will only last a few hours in direct sunlight. But the surest way to kill a vampire is by either total incineration or decapitation.

When physically injured, vampires feel pain just as potently as any human would. Vampires feel bruises, cuts, scrapes, stabs, and even death just as they did when they were alive. Though, it should be noted that vampires do not feel cold.

There are two things that every vampire is familiar with, whether they know it by name or not. These are Bloodlust and Death, but they most likely differ from what a human would typically think of when hearing those words. Death is the unofficial name given to the process by which one becomes a vampire, and Bloodlust is the last stage of Death. To explain how one dies without staying dead is not an easy task, though many have made their attempts; I will make mine now. Death is unpredictable. It could occur instantly after the toxin enters your system, or it could take several years to even begin. When it starts, the duration, and the painfulness all depends on several factors that vary with the individual going through the transformation. During Death, the body breaks down and rejects its own blood, expelling it any way it can as it changes into a different, new creature. Death is painful. Death is frightening. Many near-vampires find that it marks the end of their time before it's even begun.

Bloodlust begins when the vampire is caught between life and death and has to chose. Should he give up his mortal life, he will gain an immortal one. The near-vampire's heart stops. After mere seconds that seem to languidly drag into an eternity, he wakes up to a new life with a dead, useless heart. He isn't forever dead, but neither is he fully living. He has paid the price of an eternal life. During Bloodlust (this is where it gets it's name) the new vampire first experiences his thirst for blood. It nearly overpowers him. Imagine: You have no idea what you are. You feel as if you've slipped into a body much different from your own. Not only do you have to accustom yourself with that, but there's this insatiable desire for something that you can't quite name. It takes hold of you, it drives you. You want to try whatever you can to find out what it is you're craving so desperately. You see someone on the street, on a bus, at the store. You don't know him, you've never met him, but there's something about him, something enticing. His smell. His smell pulls you in, fills your senses like a drug. You can hear his heart beating, you can feel the blood flowing in his veins. Instinct will take over from there. As he grows limp in your arms, as the warm elixir leaves his body and flows into you, you feel revitalized, replenished. His blood satisfies you like nothing else could. It's as if you'd been crawling through a desert, dehydrated and delirious to the point of death, until you finally tasted your first drop of water in days. But it was only a drop. You need more. You can't stop until you've had your fill.

Some vampires never reach their fill. Those who survive find that after Bloodlust the thirst isn't as intense and maddening. With practice, vampires learn to control their thirst, though it isn't easy. Vampires without restraint lead themselves to ruin.

The story you are about to hear takes place around a veritably average town in the southeast United States where there was mostly forests. The town was surrounded by the trees, by nature and its spirit—by the mystery of things living and happening inside, things you knew were there, had been there, but couldn't see. The town was Arrow, and just beyond it, down a winding and unpaved road, was a house hidden among the trees. The house had a name, though it was unlikely that anyone who saw it knew what it was; many of the people who had lived in it never knew what it was called. The house, "Un Lieu de Repos Paisible", had seen many people go in and out of its doors.

Un Lieu de Repos Paisible was built at the very end of the nineteenth century by a husband and wife, Alan and Madeleine Harris, who never intended to live inside its walls. They constructed it to be plain and unobtrusive, while still being welcoming to those who passed by. It's brick foundation was designed as a pillar for those who had lost their footing, it's wooden frame and roof there to shelter them from danger. The practicality of the white American Foursquare home's architecture was balanced by the familiar hominess and the sincerity with which it was completed.

The couple rented the house out for several decades, occasionally to humans, but mainly to vampires. The world was changing, shrinking, growing more dangerous for their kind. The light was coming and soon the creatures crouching in the darkness would be revealed. It was not so perilous for Alan and Madeleine, in all their years they had never given to lurking in church yards or cowering in abandoned buildings, but they felt a sense of duty to their less-fortunate kin. They were really offering much more than just a place to live; they were offering a chance to become a little bit human again. There was hardly a vampire who remembered what it was like to live like a human.

Un Lieu de Repos Paisible had plenty of space and five bedrooms, so Alan and Madeleine often had several vampires living in their home at once. Those who needed shelter would always find the house. It became very well known among vampires, word of mouth carrying the fables of a safe haven all over southeast America. Alan and Madeleine would become close with each and every one of their tenants, and as the twentieth century rolled on they found themselves sometimes helping their residents get falsified documents and even jobs. They were happy to help however they could.

But over the course of half a century vampires' numbers drastically thinned. The Harrises had seen this happen many times before—in the panic of eighteenth century Europe, during the New England outbreak in the nineteenth century—but never quite like this. Before, it had always been vampires being hunted by confused, frightened people, by humans. In this new age, vampires were killing themselves. Society was changing, and much too quickly. For a community that thrived in secret shadows to be met with a world that lived to turn on the lights and expose secrets, this was danger like they'd never known before. In the end, it was fear that killed the vampires, or at least nearly.

The Harrises conceded to rent out to humans when vampires became all but impossible to find. Then, when no one at all was interested in it, the house was made empty and remained that way for almost nine years. Un Lieu de Repos Paisible stood still and forgotten, lost in the forest.

The twenty-first century came and brought with it a shock to Alan and Madeleine Harris, that they were going to have a child. The mere idea was positively deranged. Vampires were made after all, not born. If it was possible, and indeed it was, then it must have happened before, but the Harrises had never heard of anything like it. Were they really capable of having children? Was this actually happening?

For several months the uncertainty drove them insane, and the fear only escalated. How were they going to deliver this baby? What did it take to raise an infant vampire? How were they going to keep this a secret? The list of questions they didn't know how to answer grew longer every day, and the Harrises had no one to turn to. Until they met David Parker.

David had been a vampire for over a hundred years by the time he appeared at the Harrises's doorstep. He introduced himself as the leader of a coven of vampires that were growing desperate in their search for shelter and safety, and that they had been told stories of Un Lieu de Repos Paisible and had dared to hope that they might be true. Seeing Madeleine Harris already six months pregnant threw David into perplexity, and he couldn't keep himself from asking about it. Madeleine and Alan told David as much as either of them knew while trying not to let their own ignorance and fear glare through. David saw it anyway. He saw their inner thoughts and their struggle, and so he made them a deal. If they would help him and his coven, he would help them. He explained that he carried a notebook left to him by another vampire, as extensive a book as had ever been written about their kind. As he recalled, there was something about children who had been born by vampires in his notebook. He could tell them everything that the book knew if they allowed his coven to live at their house.

The Harrises hastily agreed, with one slight alteration. Where they lived at the time was too populated, too close. It would be impossible to keep a rampaging fledgling vampire hidden there. People would hear things, see things, they would gossip and question, and the Harrises could only conclude that they had to move away. They needed someplace quiet and remote to raise their child. They had planned to move to their house in the forest, to Un Lieu de Repos Paisible. But if David and his coven were willing to help them, and if they didn't mind sharing the space, they could live with them in their home. David had nothing to complain about and no other options, so he accepted.

The house had just enough space for all of them. David's coven was a group of four, including himself; though he ended up sharing a room with another vampire named Michael, there were no major inconveniences. Madeleine and Alan took the master bedroom, and everyone else had rooms of their own with one extra left for the baby.

In the notebook, Nicolas Grey had recorded one case where an infant vampire had been traditionally born through two vampire parents. The child had been delivered mortal with striking vampire qualities, heightened senses, a thirst for blood. He hadn't needed blood to survive, but he'd liked it. The baby had been raised normally during his early life, or as near as possible to it, until he'd begun to change. He'd been barely five years old when he'd become a full vampire, and he'd remained five years old for the rest of his existence.

Madeleine's baby, Marylinn, was born mortal. She grew, she ate food, she cried, and she was very much like a human baby. She was too much like a human child for anyone who knew what she really was to trust that she would stay that way for long. It wasn't possible for Marylinn to have a normal childhood, living in a house of vampires. Her parents lived with the terror of knowing that she could change at any moment as her life progressed with her unaware. She stayed hidden at Un Lieu de Repos Paisible, she was homeschooled, she had minimal contact with humans. Her parents could only prepare themselves for the day that she would change.

When Marylinn was eight she passed out from too much exposure to the sun. She was rushed inside and laid in her room, were the curtains were drawn and any source of light was shut out. Around the same time she started losing more and more blood; she would bleed profusely from the tiniest cuts. Sometimes blood would drip from her nose or her ears, and nothing would stop it. A few more years flew by and Marylinn grew paler and more beautiful, but not much older. Very soon she stopped aging altogether. Time stopped for her and trapped her in the body of a child, despite the years of experiences and opportunities she had ahead of her. Marylinn didn't fully understand what had happened to her, not enough to know why everyone seemed so sad about it.

Alan Harris made a space in the corner of the basement of Un Lieu de Repos Paisible for a cage. He built it with his own hands, welding together thick cast iron pipes. It lied empty and waiting for Marylinn's Bloodlust to start. But Marylinn reached her thirteenth birthday still being technically mortal, though still looking as if she were eight or nine. She was getting restless, tired of the forest and her home, tired of living separately from the rest of the world. She begged her parents to send her to a regular school where she could meet people and make friends and live her own life, but her parents refused. It was too dangerous for her, and for anyone who would be near her. Marylinn couldn't let it go, she was tenacious, she didn't comprehend the peril of what she'd decided she wanted. When she was absolutely desperate and threatening to leave Un Lieu Repos Paisible forever, her parents conceded that if, after she completed the transformation, she showed promising control and restraint, they would allow her to go to school.

It happened later that same year. Marylinn was in the basement for almost two weeks. Limitations were necessary when it came to feeding her. Much like a child, she had to be refused many times to prevent her from being spoiled. If she got everything she wanted whenever she wanted it, she would never stop wanting. She would lose control. It was for her sake, and also to save her family and friends from having to take too many lives to quench her thirst. Once it was over, she hardly remembered a thing. It was an indistinct blur, a nightmare locked in the recesses of her memory.

When it was over, Marylinn did her best to convince her parents that she had restraint, that she wasn't a threat to humans. She adjusted to her new life and her new powers exceptionally well, but her parents were still reluctant. If anything at all went wrong once Marylinn was introduced to the world, everything might change. But they couldn't keep her inside forever, and they didn't intend to. When Marylinn was old enough to be in high school, they enrolled her in the nearby boarding academy outside of Arrow. As a gesture of gratitude, David offered to look after Marylinn as she went to school, check up on her from time to time, walk her home and such, which is how David became familiar with the school and some of the people who attended it. It was fun at first, masquerading as an ordinary human like the rest of them; it gave him a taste of his former life, before all the sulking around and cowering and hiding. It was only a taste, and of course he never spent all that much time at the school at first. There was no reason to.

Funny how things have a way of taking unexpected turns.


	2. Chapter 1

**...**

**Chapter 1**

**Katerina Byrne**

Her heart pounded. This wasn't happening. This could not be happening. Not again. Her chest heaved as she ran. Her incessant footsteps thundered against the cold pavement. They echoed down the narrow road, against the trees. She could feel the weight of her school bag dragging her down. She had to move faster. She had to hurry. If she didn't, she'd be dead.

She wasn't paying attention to where her foot fell, and she didn't remember that rift in the sidewalk being there before. Placing her weight perfectly off-balance because of the gap that appeared only to mock her, she twisted her ankle and crumpled to the ground. Besides a few scrapes and bruises she wasn't injured, but she hadn't escaped the inevitable.

The bell tower in the center of campus, barely visible over the treetops, tolled 7 o'clock, and Myra was officially late for assembly. She groaned aloud, knowing she had failed to break her tardy streak. Her father would not stand for it. Not wanting to waste what little time she had before class would begin, she picked herself up off the lonely path to trudge on to school, but something caused her to stop. A girl her age was traipsing down the opposite side of the road. The girl pressed against the tree line, searching the forest when she wasn't staring at her feet. She wore the Arrow Academy girls' uniform and carried a black backpack, which was odd to Myra since she had never seen her in school before. The academy was so small that everyone knew everyone else.

"Hey," Myra called. The girl jolted and looked around. Myra remembered the principal of Arrow Academy, Mr. Williams, mentioning a new student who was supposed to arrive sometime that week. This girl certainly seemed lost. She stared silently back at Myra with wide eyes. Slightly freckled cheeks turned red as she tucked strands of red hair behind her ear. "Are you the new student?" She gave a slight nod. "What's your name?"

"Katerina," she called back, casting a glance over her shoulder to the forest.

"You know, classes are about to start. We should probably head towards the school." Myra wondered why she'd been wandering along the side of the road, and in the opposite direction of the school. Coming from the girls dorm, which was only a short walk down the road from the school, should have had her heading in the same direction as Myra. Then again, it was very possible that she had been on time before realizing she'd forgotten something and had been on her way to fetch whatever it was from her room. Katerina's gaze fell to the ground. After some hesitation, she crossed the road to Myra's side and followed behind her as they made their way to campus. Myra maintained a brisk pace that was only impeded by Katerina's quiet reluctance.

Their side of the sidewalk was bordered by a cobblestone wall, as opposed to the sidewalk Katerina had been on before that was open to the forest. The wall lined a raised level of earth that the sidewalk sloped up to meet by the time the girls reached the gated drive to Arrow Academy. The campus felt lifeless, due less to its being deserted by students who were in class and more to the limited scheme of grays and browns veiled by the misty, late autumn air. The trees were dead, their leaves fallen and strewn across campus, swirled into small heaps by a lazy breeze. The grass was withering, crunching under the girls' feet. The main building was grey bricks and long black windows and metal doors and, though Katerina didn't know what the inside was like yet, she really didn't want to see it.

They went in to see all the other students disappearing up the staircase to their classrooms. Assembly was already over, and the tardy bell would soon ring. Mr. Williams stood by the auditorium doors watching the students go. His eyes were piercing slits behind thick eyebrows and small glasses. He was a tall, dark man. Lean, with a stiff, straight posture. He wasn't old or slow like Katerina had expected. Quite the opposite. His head whipped around as if he'd sensed the girls' presence, and he took swift, bounding strides to reach them. His hard expression and his speed made Katerina falter a few steps, but he wasn't looking at her.

"You need to stop doing this," he said to Myra. His voice was low and rumbling, like a storm breaking. "I'm serious. You can't expect me to ignore this, you could very well be expelled at this point."

Myra avoided meeting those steely eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't get much sleep and the alarm didn't wake me up. I'm sorry I missed the assembly, but I can still make it to class." The tardy bell had already rung. "Well, I won't be _that_ late."

Mr. Williams shot a stern look at Katerina, making her go rigid. "You. Get to class. I need to speak to my daughter alone." She didn't need to be told twice.

Katerina's first class was World History, which she probably would've found interesting if it wasn't for the teacher's droning voice and her desire to be anywhere besides where she was. It wasn't her choice to come to Arrow Academy. To be fair, who would choose to come to such a place? What appeal could a poor little boarding school out in the sticks have to, really, anyone? A boarding school—just the name in itself—would suggest to someone unaware of the circumstances that the kids sent there were troubled or special needs, requiring a protected environment. Or they were being punished. Katerina was not troubled or special, but she felt a lot like she was being punished.

Arrow Academy was not that kind of boarding school, the kind especially for the mentally challenged or emotionally unstable. Arrow Academy was just a school for those who were interesting in a more personal learning environment. It must certainly be personal, Katerina thought, with a student body totaling two-hundred and fifty something. Personal to the point of unsettling. The results spoke for themselves, though, with exceptional marks across the board in all standardized tests. The system worked, and that's what mattered to Mr. and Mrs. Byrne.

Katerina wasn't stupid, but she had never been one determined to prove otherwise either, at least on paper. But whatever the paper said was supreme, and her parents wanted to see their daughter succeed in a world that was bound by the paper, and that's how Katerina had ended up where she was. To say she was in a living hell would sound hyperbolic, but that's what she thought.

No tears had fallen from her eyes when she had been dropped off the previous night, and there were no tears that morning when she was preparing for school. Tears might have made her feel better for a moment, but they wouldn't solve anything. When she saw the gates for the first time, before she lost her resolve and turned around, that had been the closest she'd come to crying since she had seen her room after it had been packed up; she had never seen her room so bare. Her mother had cried, though that was little consolation. Her father never cried, so no surprise there. Katerina liked to think that she was similar in that respect, but it simply wasn't true. She cried actual tears the second night she was there.

Myra slipped into the World History room a few minutes after the teacher had started the lesson. She claimed the empty seat in the back next to Katerina and immediately set out to get the girl's attention. "Hey," she whispered, reaching across the space separating their desks to tap the girl's arm, making her jolt. Myra giggled, despite Katerina's offended expression. "Sorry, what was your name again?"

"Katerina."

Myra smiled kindly. "I'm Myra."

"You're the principal's daughter," was the snide reply. Myra flushed, but wasn't deterred from conversation, to Katerina's disappointment. This was the girl who had foiled her plan of escape, if only for one day, and she was completely oblivious to Katerina's disinterest in anything she had to say.

"Yeah." Myra was used to being mocked because of who her father was. She was quick to change the subject. "Do you have your schedule? Which section are you in?"

"Section?" Katerina echoed, taking out a piece of paper from her binder that she'd received in the mail. Myra leaned over to glance at the paper, her eyes brightening.

"You're in the same section as me."

"I am?" Joy. "What section? What does that mean?"

"We're both in section A. The different grades are split down the middle, because we have the same teachers but we can't all fit in the classrooms at the same time. Section A has one schedule, and section B has a different one, and we basically alternate classrooms that way."

"So, we're in all the same classes?"

"Yep."

Katerina struggled to swallow the dread that was welling inside of her and force a smile. "Great."

She found some relief in that she was easily ignored by mostly everyone else the rest of the day. The teachers never called on her or asked her to introduce herself, or even acknowledged her at all. That was gracious of them. It was easy to pretend to pay attention in class, just as it was easy to pretend to listen to Myra whenever she spoke. Even if Katerina honestly didn't notice when she opened her mouth from continually blocking the sound of her voice, Myra failed to realize. Katerina almost felt guilty, because Myra seemed sweet, and everything she did was to be friendly and help her adjust to things at Arrow. The thing was, as Katerina tried so hard to communicate through everything short of writing it in a black marker across her forehead, she didn't want to adjust. She didn't want to enjoy herself. She didn't want to be there. So, Myra's charitable efforts were wasted and, ultimately, grating.

"There are tennis courts, basketball courts, and a soccer field behind the cafeteria, which is over there." Myra pointed, though they were still inside the school and the things she was pointing to weren't visible beyond it's walls. "The gym is over that way, behind the school. You already know where the girls' dorm is. And the boys' dorm is on the opposite side of the street, you've seen it." The day and been long and tedious, school at Arrow didn't let out until 4:45 pm, but it wasn't insufferable. With classes now over and standard small talk all but run through, Myra was now acting as Katerina's personal attendant while Katerina clung to thoughts of the solitude and solace that waited for her back at the girls' dorm. "What else is there . . . well, there's the art building beside the main building—"

They descended the stairs with the bustling herd of students heading to the lobby. Hardly realizing that Myra was still talking, Katerina asked, "Are students allowed to go into the forest?"

Myra was caught off-guard, raising her brow at the question. "No. The forests around here are all privately owned. It's not only against school rules for you to go into the woods unsupervised, but you'd be trespassing. And a lot of times there are hunters in the forest, so you might get, like, shot and—"

Katerina turned away. "I was just wondering. I came from the city. No forests there."

"Well, I don't know if you'd be interested, but sometimes there are horseback riding trips on these trails through the woods during the weekend, and you could—" Myra stopped mid-sentence, her mouth still open. She was staring straight ahead into the lobby with wide, panic-filled eyes. She grabbed Katerina's arm and pushed her into the nearby restroom.

"Hey!" Katerina pulled away and glared at the other girl. "What the hell?"

Myra jumped back to the door and blocked it as if she was afraid someone would barge in. "Oh, um. Yeah. This probably seems weird."

"You think?"

"There's a reason," she insisted, gripping the door handle. "It's just . . . I got all caught up in talking to you and telling you about the school that I wasn't even thinking. But, well, there's a guy in the lobby."

Katerina scoffed. "So?"

"His name is David. He hangs around the school a lot, he's here every afternoon to pick up his sister." She waited for Myra's justification for shoving her into the bathroom, because there had to be more to it than that. A searching look tried to draw the answer out. And finally, "He's freaking gorgeous."

"That's it?" Katerina sneered, rolling her eyes. "So you have a crush on this guy."

Myra blushed. "You don't know how hot he is!"

"Oh, you were just trying to prepare me for it?" Her laugh was hollow. She grabbed the handle above Myra's hand and yanked the door open. "Let's hope I don't go blind from his abounding sex appeal." Katerina continued towards the lobby, but Myra hesitated to follow.

It didn't matter to Katerina how good-looking the guy was. In fact, to prove how little she cared, she was determined to walk straight past him and out the door without so much as glimpsing his way. If Myra was worried about the new girl setting her sights on her claim, she should be greatly relieved. Katerina had no such ambition, and she wasn't one to be swept off her feet by a charming smile. Katerina marched forward, keeping her gaze fixed on the doors at the end of the hall. It was slightly tempting, if she had to be honest, just because of how anxious this guy made Myra. But she wouldn't look. She had already made the decision not to look, and she wasn't going to enfeeble her discipline like that. She was already halfway there.

A cold hand brushed her arm, and suddenly David was right in front of her. She jumped when he touched her, warranting a glint of amusement in his eyes and a smile. "Sorry," he said. "Didn't mean to startle you."

She found herself stammering. "O-oh. Oh, no. I, well, it's just . . . " He looked to be in his early twenties and was cleanly dressed in jeans, a button-up shirt, and a suede jacket. His mouth was still turned up into a warm smile as he leaned in to Katerina. He had a thin but boyish face framed with thick, raven hair. His eyes, deep and brown and striking against his alabaster skin, captured her gaze. They were kind and honest, but they were abysmal. They were threatening without intention.

He rubbed his hands together. "It's chilly outside." He spoke with an English accent, which was enthralling. Katerina looked to the floor, not understanding why her heart was trying to burst out of her chest. "I was wanting to ask you what your name is."

Myra appeared beside her, apparently discontent with leaving Katerina alone to occupy David's attention. "Her name's Katerina."

He flashed his white teeth at Myra for a second, just long enough to acknowledge that she had spoken, and then he turned back to Katerina. "That's a very beautiful name. Where are you from?"

"Chicago."

"I've never seen you before. Did you just transfer here?"

"Yeah."

"She got lost on her way to school this morning," Myra chimed, trying to stay in the conversation. Katerina glared at her, still harboring resentment.

David chuckled. "Well, if you don't get lost anymore, I'm sure we'll be seeing quite a bit of each other. My name is David, by the way."

"I know." He looked surprised. "Myra told me."

He turned again to Myra. "Nice to see you again."

Only a few students still loitered in the lobby with the three of them. Most had gone to the cafeteria for supper. Occasionally a straggler with no reason to hurry would make his way down the stairs. One of these students was a small girl with lustrous black hair and pale skin who Katerina, when she saw her, could not believe was in high school. The girl came up to them, standing a head shorter than Katerina—not exceptionally tall herself.

"Are you ready, Marylinn?" David asked, and Marylinn nodded. Katerina took notice of the girl's undeveloped femininity, especially the years she lacked in her face. People developed at all different rates, but Katerina had never seen a high school girl with such a young looking face. She could only assume that either the girl had skipped a few grades or she'd been blessed with incredible genes that she'd be very grateful for later on in life. "We'll see you ladies later."

"Bye, David." The two girls watched David and Marylinn leave out the front doors. As soon as they had disappeared, Myra caught Katerina's arm to use as support while she fanned herself and pretended to swoon. "He's so sexy!"

Katerina shrugged, hoping to conceal the color that still flared in her cheeks. "He's alright, I guess."

"'Alright, I guess'? Come on!"

She was too discomfited by how unbelievably attracted she was to David to admit that she found him appealing at all. "He's not my type."

. . .

David and Marylinn didn't tear through the woods to get home. They didn't even run. They walked at a leisurely pace like any human would, because it was nice to live slowly every once in a while. It was dark long before they reached the house, but they had no reason to be wary of the nightlife. It was peaceful, actually, to walk through the forest at night, and the country sky was sparkling with stars. The air was cold, but they didn't feel it. They enjoyed the murmuring, rustling sounds of the creatures that stayed a save distance from them until they reached the house, from which a dim light crept out of the dark.

Michael was reading in the living room when they walked through the door. He peered at them from underneath curling bangs of black hair. "How was school?" he asked.

"It was school," Marylinn answered, beeming. David locked the door behind them. "Is everyone home?"

Michael set his book down on the table in front of him. "I don't know. You tell me."

Marylinn was embarrassed at first. Michael knew she was still figuring out her powers and capabilities. But she stayed very still and listened to the many rooms, felt for the presence of the others who she had always known as her family. She broke out in a confident grin. "Yep."

Michael smiled, giving her a nod of approval. "Irene and Tristan are in their rooms. Your parents are in the family room."

"I knew that!" she yelled over her shoulder as she rushed to her parents.

David stood on the other side of the room with faint amusement visible on his face. He looked away from Michael, who was curious as to what he was obviously preparing to say. David asked, "When was the last time you went by Arrow?"

Michael shrugged. "It's been several months, I think."

"You should go again, sometime soon. Pick up Marylinn for me."

So rarely did David ever ask anyone to pick up Marylinn in his place, and Michael couldn't help but breathe a confused grunt of a laugh. "Why? Are you getting bored with your duties?"

"No. There's someone you should see. I met a girl today. She's a new student at the academy. Her name's Katerina."

Michael withheld interest. "What's so important about this girl?"

"Nothing, really. But you should take a look anyway." David could sometimes look very sly with his curled-lip smirk and heavy-lidded eyes. "And when you do, tell me who she reminds you of."


	3. Chapter 2

**...**

**Chapter 2**

**The Thermos**

Katerina considered drastic measures for leaving Arrow Academy the first week she was there, but most of them were quickly discarded. Because she knew the power of papers, she knew that she shouldn't do anything that might represent her in too negative a light. Meaning, anything resulting in expulsion was out of the question. There was, though, a way that could just be subtle enough to work. It was for a better environment leading to greater academic achievement that she had been sent to Arrow Academy, but if that failed? The school cost good money, money that wouldn't be wasted if it appeared ineffectual.

A certain amount of care would have to be exercised in the application of Katerina's plan. Poor grades were not taken lightly at Arrow Academy, and she could be severely punished for them, even to the point of expulsion. But there was a marginal difference between what Arrow considered unacceptable and what her parents considered unacceptable. As long as she didn't cross that margin, she would be set. So, the plan was fairly simple: Try, but don't try too hard, and wait for the results. Soon she'd be saying goodbye to this place. In the meantime, she'd just have to put up with the piercing sound of squealing laughter from the girls who occupied the room next to hers, the stiff fabric of the gray uniforms, the starchy, bland cafeteria food, the Devil's Triangle that was the laundry room, and of course Myra.

"I heard about this party happening at the Turner's house this weekend." Myra said one day as they were in-between classes. The girl seemed to be under the impression that Katerina had accepted her as a friend when the reality was that Katerina couldn't think of a polite way to tell someone that their presence was unwanted. In the end Katerina decided to tolerate it for however long she had to until her parents took her out of the school or Myra lost interest, whichever came first. "I was thinking about going. Do you wanna come?"

"Not really." Talking to people she didn't know and didn't care to know was unappealing already, and there was no incentive for making friends when she was determined to leave this school as soon as possible.

"Come on, you'll have fun," Myra insisted. Katerina had never figured parties to be a recipe for fun. She was uncomfortable and never quite sure what to do with herself in a large crowd. "I thought this might help you get to know people, and maybe you would start to like it here a little better." It was surprising that Myra wasn't as oblivious to Katerina's plight as she'd thought, but she still knew nothing about her intentions. Not that it was all her fault. Katerina wasn't going to let anyone know about it.

She rejected the invitation, but Myra kept asking. She wouldn't stop asking, she was adamant that this would be good experience. It wore Katerina down and she finally agreed.

"Great!" A smile spread across Myra's face. "We can ride there together. You'll need to get leave from Dean Moon, but you might not want to tell her where you're going."

"Why not?"

"The staff has probably heard about the party. Lots of other students are wanting to go. They may not give you permission."

"So, you want me to lie?" Katerina didn't need guilt on top of anxiety. "What am I supposed to tell her?"

She thought it over a second. "Tell her that you're going with me to see a movie. We can spend a couple of hours at the party, and everything will be fine."

"Alright," she muttered after some hesitation, deciding she could come up with an excuse to get out of the agreement later. They went to the computer lab for their next class where their teacher, Mr. Negreros, would spend an hour and fifteen minutes of everyone's time trying to educate students on the technical applications of computer software while they opened their internet browsers and filtered out every word he said.

While doing nothing that could be considered productive, Katerina started thinking more about the party. She didn't want to have to lie, and she wouldn't enjoy the party anyway,—she was sure of that—but she realized that it was a good opportunity to break the rules of the school and get in trouble. Under normal circumstances this would settle it, she wouldn't have to debate whether or not she should go. But this, on top of her failure to maintain a respectable GPA, would without a doubt persuade her parents that this wasn't where she belonged. If, of course, this wasn't a serious enough offense that she would be expelled for.

"If the dean finds out that I went to the party," Katerina murmured under Mr. Negreros's instruction, "what would happen? Would I get expelled?"

"Nah, you wouldn't get expelled. You'd get in trouble, yeah, but they wouldn't expel you."

She wasn't sure if she could trust Myra's word. "What do you think they'd do? Has anyone gotten in trouble for something like this before?"

"I remember a couple of people getting caught after sneaking off campus, because they were either drunk or their friends told a teacher or something. The guy who was drunk got suspended, but the others were only taken off the Dean's list and campus bound for two weeks. Anyway, we're not going to get drunk, and I'm pretty sure we're smart enough not to get caught." She laughed.

Katerina agreed that they were smart enough not to get caught—that is, if she didn't want to be caught. Even if she was suspended, though that definitely wasn't positive and she wasn't at all planning on going that far, at least it wouldn't be on her transcript. "So, what time is this party?" Being on Dean's list wasn't important to Katerina and she didn't care whether she was campus bound, but if her parents heard that she had lied to the dean and had sneaked away to a party with alcohol and whatever else they could imagine at a stranger's house . . . well, it would be much quicker than waiting for her grades to fall. Simply feigning remorse and confessing to the act after it was done would surely guarantee her ticket out of there.

Myra and Katerina made plans to leave the dorm at eight 'o clock that Friday and ride with some other students who Myra knew were going. They had to get back to the dorm by eleven or else they would be locked out, and they didn't anticipate any major obstacles beyond that.

They went to their last class of the day, English, where Mr. Webb started them off with a grammar exercise. All the students went to work, minus Katerina, who'd decided to spend the period doodling in her notebook. Five questions were written on the white board, sentences that took the class as a whole about fifteen minutes to correct. Only after everyone had finished the exercise did Marylinn show up. Mr. Webb's expression fell once she entered the room. "Where have you been, Marylinn?"

Katerina whispered to Myra, "She wasn't in any of our other classes."

"She's a freshman, but she was bumped up to sophomore English," Myra explained quietly.

Marylinn took the closest empty desk, keeping her head down. "I was in the bathroom," she mumbled in response to the teacher's inquiry.

"You have a fifteen minute passing period during which you can use the restroom, and yet you're constantly late to my class. What could you possibly be doing for half an hour?" He stared her down. Marylinn kept silent. When she offered nothing amounting to an acceptable excuse, Mr. Webb took out a blue slip of paper and scratched something down on it. "I'm sending you to see Mr. Williams after class is over. Maybe you'll have enough time between now and then to think of a good reason for why you shouldn't get detention."

When the bell rang about forty minutes later, Mr. Webb reminded Marylinn of her appointment with the principal, handing her the blue slip on her way out. All the other students gathered their things and shuffled out of the classroom, Katerina and Myra following near the back of the stream funneling out the door when the teacher called, "Wait a second. Ms. Byrne."

Her head whipped around. "Yes?" She shot a curious glance to Myra, who was waiting just outside the door.

"Myra, you can go," Mr. Webb said. "I need to speak to you, Katerina. It'll only take a minute." Myra gave Katerina an apologetic look before running after the rest of the class. Mr. Webb placed a chair at the front of the classroom facing his desk. "Please take a seat."

Katerina slowly made her way to the chair and slumped down in it. Mr. Webb got right to the point, saying, "You arrived late in the semester, so there's a lot you need to catch up on, but for the past few day that you've been in my class you haven't paid the slightest attention or turned in any of the assignments." He paused to see if Katerina would try to defend herself, but she said nothing. "How are you doing in your other classes?"

She shrugged. "About the same as the class, I guess."

"So, you haven't been doing anything in any of your classes?" Katerina stared back at him, giving no response. Mr. Webb stretched across the length of his desk, reaching for the blue slips of paper while never breaking eye contact. "Why are you here, Katerina?"

Her brow furrowed as if she didn't understand the question.

"Why did you come to Arrow Academy? Was it to slack off?"

"My parents sent me here."

"And why did they do that? Was it because you were having trouble at your other school?"

Katerina was growing less and less willing to answer his questions. She mostly resorted to shrugging. Mr. Webb shook his head thoughtfully as he wrote something on a clean blue slip. He handed it to her from across his desk and said, "You seem like a smart girl, Katerina." She wondered how he would know whether or not she was intelligent just by this brief exchange. "Now, I don't know why you're not focused in school, but if you apply yourself I know you can do well."

She glanced over the blue paper in her hands. "Am I in trouble?"

"I want you to talk to the principal about your classes. If you want, tell him what it is that's bothering you. If you need help with something, we want to help you."

"Okay." She stood up tentatively, encouraging him to dismiss her since they seemed to have reached the end of the discussion.

He nodded. "You may go."

It shouldn't have been surprising that some of her teachers would assume she was troubled by her refusal to apply herself. Katerina really wished they wouldn't try to help her, though. Especially if their idea of help was sending her to the principal's office. It would've been easy, she supposed, to simply not go. It was a very tempting option, and it might have even serviced the rebellious act she was pushing. It was only an act, though, and her front was crumbling. She started to wonder if she really had it in her, if she could keep this up. Maybe she was weak. Maybe she was too compliant in nature. But as she descended the stairs to the lobby, any thought she had about avoiding the visit with the principal wavered until it completely vaporized. She found herself turning towards the office once in the lobby. She could at least hope that he, like Mr. Webb, thought she needed help instead of deserving punishment.

In her peripheral vision, Katerina caught sight of a pale boy with black hair sitting on the couch in the corner and her heart race accelerated. Now, instead of dreading her destination, she was much more concerned with how she looked and whether David was noticing her. She felt her body stiffen, moving unnaturally as she focused too much on avoiding—or acquiring, she couldn't really decide—his attention. She didn't want to hazard a direct glance, but her eyes disobeyed her will. When she did look, though, it wasn't David she saw sitting on the couch.

She stole another peek just to be sure, but this was definitely someone she didn't know. He did have very white skin, and he did have black, ruffled hair, but he was younger with much softer eyes and a rounder face. Katerina couldn't say that he was unattractive, but he didn't posses the same maturity or charisma that David did.

Katerina had come to a complete stop in front of the office doors, openly staring at the boy sitting on the couch. He was now fidgeting, aware of her present attention but refusing to acknowledge her. She asked him, "Are you here to pick up your sister?"

He jumped, locking eyes with her. The look etched on his face gave Katerina the impression that he was in some degree of pain. "Um, no, I'm here to pick up Marylinn. Marylinn Harris."

"Oh, sorry. I thought you were David's little brother or something," she said dismissively. "You look like you could be related to him and Marylinn."

His head titled in an unspoken question and he gave a quiet, flustered laugh. "Marylinn and David aren't brother and sister."

"There're not? But . . . " Well, it wasn't farfetched to think that Myra could've misheard or misunderstood David and Marylinn's relationship, so Katerina didn't press any argument. "I guess I was wrong. Anyway, Marylinn is in the office."

The boy showed concern. "Is she in trouble?"

"I don't know."

He stood up from the couch and, quite out of nowhere, asked, "Your name is Katerina, isn't it?"

"How did you know?"

"David mentioned you. You look," he took a pause and a breath, "like he described."

Katerina felt her face heat up. "What did he say about me?"

"That you were . . . interesting."

"Is that good or bad?"

"I'm not sure," he said, looking her up and down in a detached, scrutinizing manner. Before either of them said anything else he stepped forward, moving around Katerina and reaching for the office door. "I should probably get in there." He added, unconvincingly, "I hope I see you later."

He was about to head inside and close the door on her. "What's your name?" she asked. It was somewhat unfair that he knew hers when she didn't know his.

"Michael Stone," he answered, and then he left.

Through the glass doors, Katerina saw Michael walk over to the front desk and speak to the receptionist there. The older lady nodded to whatever he'd said and led him back to the principal's office. After that, Katerina turned away and took a seat on the now vacant couch to wait until it was her turn to see Mr. Williams.

She thought a bit about Michael, David, and what their relationship must have been to Marylinn. They certainly seemed close, though she had to admit that aside from the dark hair and pale complexion none of them looked as if they could be related. Well, it was possible they were cousins or something. Michael had only said that they weren't siblings.

Katerina didn't wait on the couch for very long. It was only a few minutes before she saw Michael and Marylinn return from the office and continue out the front door, on their way home. Inside, the receptionist was turned around at a file cabinet, so Katerina approached the desk and drummed her fingers against the solid wood, waiting for her to notice she was there. She absentmindedly eyed the small silver thermos that was sitting on the corner of the desk. When the receptionist turned around she looked from Katerina to the thermos and asked, "Is that yours?"

"No. It was here before I came in."

"Somebody must have forgotten it. Do you mind putting it in the lost and found box?"

"Oh. Okay." She picked it up and looked around. "Where's that?"

The older lady pointed to the other end of the room. "It's on that counter there."

"Do you want me to empty it first?"

"What's in it?"

Katerina shook it, listening to the sloshing of a thick liquid. "I don't know."

"I guess you probably should. Just take it to the bathroom and wash it out and bring it back."

"Okay."

Katerina had just left the office to go to the bathroom that was by the stairs when Marylinn burst through the front doors. The girls' gazes locked till the younger's fell on the thermos. "What are you doing?" she demanded. "That's mine."

"I was just going to pour it out before I put in the lost and found." Marylinn rushed at her. "Here." She snatched it away and clung to it. The fear was evident in her wide eyes and shaking hands.

"Did you open it?"

"No." Marylinn searched her face for any signs of deceit.

A question was working its way out of Katerina, because she could neither explain nor ignore Marylinn's distress. Whatever it was about the thermos that was so valuable, Katerina couldn't see it. Marylinn was still shaken up even as she gingerly tucked the sleek container into her backpack, but before Katerina could lift her voice the girl muttered, "I should get going," and scuttled off. Katerina watched the girl, her hair and her backpack bouncing with each hasty stride, until she completely disappeared from her sight.

The receptionist didn't ask about the thermos when Katerina went back, either because she had seen what had happened in the lobby through the glass doors or because she'd forgotten about it. When Katerina finally did speak to the principal, she received a warning appertaining to her negligence in her school duties, and that was all. The words that she heard from Mr. William's own mouth hardly fazed her. She left when the principal was through with her a few minutes later, not more or less determined than she was before to continue what she was doing.


End file.
